Tobacco cutting machine



1933. w. E. MOLlNS 1,939,511

TOBACCO CUTTING MACHINE Filed Sept. 28, 1931 ME 1 @W i a W22 M, 3m Wm/M Patented Dec. 12, 1933 TOBACCO CUTTING MACHINE Walter Everett Molins, Deptl'ord, London,

England Application September 28, 1931-, Serial No. 565,625, and 'in Great Britain October 3, 1930 Claims. (Cl. 146112) This invention relates to tobacco cutting machines of the rotary type, and has for its object to provide improved means for feeding and cutting tobacco to secure cut material of uniform 5 quality and length.

In tobacco cutting machines, the leaves are compressed into a solid mass usually termed a cheese and fed through an orifice across which a knife is moved to cut off a slice from the 1o cheese.

Usually the tobacco is fed through the orifice by means of rotating fluted rollers or the like, a

common arrangement being alarge'roller either fluted or plain, beneath the tobacco mass and several small fluted rollers above the tobacco.

Formerly, the large roller was made of wood with a plain rim and the tobacco was cut by a reciprocating knife which cut slightly into the surface of the wood at each stroke. 7

Owing to the rapid wear of the wooden roller and the passage of uncut tobacco, as holeswere formed in the surface of the roller by nails and similar hard objects in the tobacco, a metal roller was subsequently used.

As it is impossible to cut on to the surface of a metal roller, it became necessary to feed the tobacco through a rectangular mouthpiece across which the knife could move and'give the knife sumcient movement to pass slightly below the mouthpiece to obtain a clean cut. The lower lip of the mouthpiece formed an obstacle to. the feeding of the tobacco which was pushed through the mouth piece by endwise pressure from the succeeding mass of tobacco forced between the fluted rollers, and the resulting cheese was not always fed uniformly. Moreover, the leaf is fed and packed by hand into the machine and as the comers are naturally more diflicult to pack snugly than the centre of the cheese, the density at the corners was usually less than in the middle, and a quantity of uncut or irregularly cut tobacco was removed from the lower corners of the cheese.

The present invention comprises a rotary tobacco cutting machine in which tobacco leaves are compressed and fed through a mouthpiece, characterized by a rotatable cutting blade being arranged to sweep across the said mouthpiece in such a manner that the edge of the cutting blade engages with a feeding roller having a rim of concave section which corresponds to the path of the cutting blade and which forms the wall of the mouthpiece remote from the axis of rotation of the knife.

The invention will be more particularly described with referenceto the accompanying drawing, in Which:' 1 r 7 Fig.1 is a section of a tobacco cutting machine constructed according to the invention. Fig. 2 is a view of Fig. 1 in the direction of the arrow A.

Fig, 3 is an enlarged view of a portion of the front of the machine showing the mouthpiece and one cutting knife.

Fig. 4 is a similar view to Fig. 3 showing a modified form of mouthpiece.

Referring to the drawing which shows a tobacco cutting machine havingtwo blades, the blades 1 are mounted on a rotatable-member or carrier 2 V in such a manner that they project through the inner face of the carrierat an angle as shown in Fig. 1.

The blades arecarried in slides 3, and have means of the kind described in British specificae tion, No. 24236/30 for automatically feeding them forward, but which have been omitted from the drawing, and are ground by an emery wheel 3?.

The tobacco in the form of leaves is laid upon a belt 4 moving in the direction of the arrow; the belt running at the bottom of a box or trough formed by boards 5.

A large roller 6 is mounted as shown in Fig. 1 and receives the tobacco leaves from the belt. 7 A seriesof fluted rollers 7, 8, 9and 10 co-operate with the belt 4 and roller 6 and feed the tobacco leaves through the mouthpiece 11 compressing them during this movement into a solid cheese. The large roller 6 is preferably made of metal and has a plain rim of concave section, as shown in Figs. 2, 3 and 4, and the blade 2 is so arranged that the corner 2 thereof contacts with the concave rim as the blade passes across the cheese. In Figs. 3 and 4 the path of the corner of the blade is shown by a broken line; this line does not coincide with the rim in those views because the blade rotates in a plane in advance of that of the spindle of roller 6 (see Fig. 1)

It will be observed that the extreme corner of the blade which contacts with the roller, and which actually performs no cutting operation, is liable to become blunt, but this is of no consequence as the leading and cutting edge of the blade is always kept sharp by contact with the grinding wheel during each revolution of the car rier 2.

Owing to the fact that the concave surface of the roller 6 forms the bottom of the mouthpiece, the feed of the tobacco is unobstructed, and regular across the entire section of the mouth, and the resulting cheese is of uniform density PATENT OFFICE throughout, this effect being further secured by ,the depth of the edges of the cheese being has all the advantages of high speed and smooth;

running resulting from the rotary movement, combined with the best cutting results.

What I claim as my invention and. desire-to secure by Letters Patent is:--

1. In a tobacco cutting machine, the combination with a rotating cutter, of a mouthpiece cooperating with said cutter, and means for feeding tobacco to said mouthpiece, said mouthpiece comprising a stationary member defining that portion of the mouthpiece adjacent-the axis of rotation of said cutter and slidably contacted by said'cutter and a-rotatable member defining that portion of the mouthpiece remote from the axis of rotation of said cutter, said rotatable member having a peripheral portion of concave shape conformingsubstantially to the path of movement of the outermost portion of said cutter.

2. In a tobacco cutting machine the combination with a rotating cutter, of a roller rotatable about an axis transverse to the axis of rotation of said cutter, said roller having a concave-periphery conforming substantially to and cooperating with the outer portion of said cutter; a stationarymember positioned in close proximity to the path of movement of said cutter and forming with said roller a mouthpiece through which tobacco may be fed, said stationary member being'slidably contacted by said cutter,- and means for feeding tobacco through'said mouthpiece.

' 3. In a tobacco cutting machine the combination with a rotating cutter, of a roller rotatable about an axis tranverse'tothe axis-of rotation of said cutter, said roller having a concave periphery conforming substantially to and cooperating with the outer portion of said cutter, a stationary member positioned in close proximity to the path of movement of said cutter and forming with said roller a mouthpiece through which tobacco'may be fed, said stationary member being slidably contacted by said cutter, and means including rollers located adjacent and cooperating with said first named roller for feeding tobacco through said mouthpiece.

4. In a tobacco cutting machine, the combination with a-rotating cutter, of a mouthpiece cooperating with said cutter, and means for feeding tobacco to said mouthpiece, said mouthpiece comprising a stationary member defining that portion ofthe mouthpiece adjacent the axis of rotation of said' cutter and slidably contacted by said cutter and a rotatable member defining that portion of the mouthpiece remote from the axis of rotation of said cutter, said rotatable member having a peripheralportion-of concave shape conforming substantially tothe path of movement of the outermost portion of said cutter, said stationary member having such configuration that the mouthpiece is of greatest depth adjacentthe central portion thereof. I

5. In a tobacco cutting machine, the combination with a rotating cutter, of a'mouthpiece cooperating with said cutter, and means for feeding tobacco to said mouthpiece, said mouthpiece comprising a stationary member defining that portion 'of the mouthpiece adjacent the axis of rotation of said cutter and a rotatable member defining that portion of 'the mouthpiece remote from the axis of rotation of said cutter, said rotatable member having a peripheral portion of concave shape conforming substantially to the path of movement ofthe outermost portion of said cutter, said stationary member being convexly formed to provide a mouthpiece of substantially uniform depth.

WALTER EVERETT MOLINS. 

